EU to Investigate Google Doubleclick Acquisition 88
the linux geek writes "Google is undergoing an investigation by the European Union for its $3.1 billion acquisition of internet advertiser DoubleClick. "We seek to avoid further delays that might put us at a disadvantage in competing fully against Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and others whose acquisitions in the highly competitive online advertising market have already been approved," said Google boss Eric Schmidt. The United States' Federal Trade Commission has been reviewing the acquisition since May."
Article text (Score:4, Informative)
EU will investigate Google deal
European Union regulators have launched an in-depth investigation into Google's $3.1bn (£1.5bn) takeover of online advertising firm DoubleClick.
The EU Commission said its initial probe had shown the deal would raise competition concerns.
It has set itself a deadline of 2 April 2008 to reach a decision.
Google said it would work with the Commission to show how the acquisition would benefit publishers, advertisers and consumers.
"We seek to avoid further delays that might put us at a disadvantage in competing fully against Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and others whose acquisitions in the highly competitive online advertising market have already been approved," said Google boss Eric Schmidt.
The European Commission is working closely on the case with the US Federal Trade Commission, which has been reviewing the deal since May.
Both Google and DoubleClick are involved in online advertising, although they have different roles.
DoubleClick helps link up advertising agencies, marketers and web site publishers hoping to put ads online and track them.
Google allows firms to target advertising at people using particular search terms and also stores information about users' internet surfing habits.
Re:Didn't knew Google was an EU company (Score:5, Informative)
Sorry, even American companies need to obey EU law while doing business in the EU.
Re:Didn't knew Google was an EU company (Score:5, Informative)
Companies that do business in a region or country are bound by the laws of that region or country.
Google is bound by US law -- but for the business it does in the EU, it is also bound by the EU. The EU can say, "If you want to do business here, you need to abide by our laws."
They can also say, "If you want to bring your monopoly here, you can pay X in fines for the privilege, or get rid of your monopoly."
Re:And if... (Score:5, Informative)
Paraphrasing Strong Bad (Score:2, Informative)